Apropos of nothing: I suspect the vast, vast majority of Americans have very little idea what activists who say "defund the police" actually want, in terms of shifting funding, boosting social services, etc. In the absence of that shared understanding, polls ...
... just end up testing "do you like the police?" Or worse, "would you like it if crime & shitty social services stayed the same but half of cops suddenly disappear?" The answers to those questions might tell you something about people's priors & basic predilections ...
... but they're not going to tell you much about whether people would be happier with the situation activists actually envision, with less punitive law enforcement & more robust social services. I don't know any real solution to this, but the use of polls in this debate is 💩.
Adding: this also goes for polling a decarbonized America. What would that look like? How, if at all, would it change people's daily lives? Most people, pro or con, have no real idea, no image in their head. So they just answer based on instincts/priors.
It's just impossible to poll a new/different world. Realistically, people won't know if they like it or approve of it until they experience it. Progressives are always asking for trust, a leap of faith, which is a WAY higher bar to clear than the RW's "indulge your fears."
